Department of Commerce December 1, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS announces free Atlantic Shark Identification Workshops and Protected Species Safe Handling, Release, and Identification Workshops to be held in January, February, and March 2009. Certain fishermen and shark dealers are required to attend a workshop to meet regulatory requirements and maintain valid permits. Specifically, the Atlantic Shark Identification Workshop is mandatory for all federally permitted Atlantic shark dealers. Also, the Protected Species Safe Handling, Release, and Identification Workshop is mandatory for vessel owners and operators who use bottom longline, pelagic longline, or gillnet gear, and have also been issued shark or swordfish limited access permits. Additional free workshops will be held in 2009 and announced in the Federal Register.

NMFS has determined that 35,000 metric tons (mt) of the 97,669 mt shore-based sector allocation would not be used by December 31, 2008. Therefore, NMFS has reapportioned the surplus whiting to the other sectors in the fishery.

NMFS issues a final rule to amend the subsistence fishery rules for members of an Alaska Native tribe eligible to harvest Pacific halibut in waters in and off Alaska for customary and traditional use. The action correctly defines the location of Village of Kanatak tribal headquarters and International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) halibut regulatory area (Area) in which the tribe's members may subsistence fish. The action would change the tribe's headquarters from Egegik to Wasilla and the corresponding Area from 4E to Area 3A. The intent of this action is to remove restrictions on participation of Village of Kanatak tribal members in traditional subsistence fisheries for Pacific halibut by correcting the tribe's headquarters to its actual location in Wasilla.

In response to a request from an interested party, the Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting the 2006-2007 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on refined brown aluminum oxide (RBAO) from the People's Republic of China (PRC). The review covers one exporter, Qingdao Shunxingli Abrasives Co. Ltd. (Qingdao Shunxingli). The period of review (POR) is November 1, 2006, to October 31, 2007. We have preliminarily determined that sales have been made at prices below normal value by Qingdao Shunxingli. If these preliminary results are adopted in our final results of administrative review, we will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assess antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results. Parties who submit comments in this review are requested to submit with each argument (1) a statement of the issue and (2) a brief summary of the argument.

The New England Fishery Management Council's (Council) Groundfish Oversight Committee will meet to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).